(AP) — A motorist's fatal shooting by a University of Cincinnati police officer who stopped him for a missing front license plate has prompted state legislation to prevent police from pulling drivers over for only one plate.
Ohio law requires front and back plates. The bill introduced Thursday by Democratic state Sen. Cecil Thomas would make driving without a front license plate a secondary violation. Drivers couldn't be cited for lacking front plates unless there was another reason to stop them.
Thomas says the bill is entitled the DuBose Was a Beacon Act, referring to motorist Samuel DuBose. Officer Ray Tensing has pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and voluntary manslaughter in DuBose's July 19 shooting and has been fired. Thomas says the legislation would limit the likelihood of potentially violent encounters between police and motorists.
